Our History

Fox Brothers were founded in 1932 by Jack Fox. The first few months of the company saw Jack and his brothers working together before Jack took full ownership of the company – Hence the name ‘Fox Bros’. The early days of the company saw Jack Fox operating 2 to 3 wagons out of the now-former brickworks buildings at Hoo Hill, Layton.

Jack Fox’s son, Harold Fox (HF) known to many as Barney joined the company to work alongside his father after leaving the merchant navy. This was around the mid-1940s after serving on several merchant ships including the Empire Flint, City of Durham and Evagoras. After the war, the company quickly expanded, opportunities presented themselves with acquisitions of land through British Rail and additional tipper wagons and plant machinery bought from the exiting Americans. This also led to one of the company’s first big jobs working on one of the runways at RAF Burtonwood in 1946

In 1956 Fox Brothers became a limited company, ‘Fox Bros Blackpool Ltd’

A strong mutual respect between the owners and employees had created a family orientated and hard-working ethos for the company allowing more growth and success. Many employees were ex-military, some even POW, it was important to HF that they were looked after, taken on as gardening staff or working in the office if no longer able to do the more laborious tasks.

Fox Brothers added housebuilders to their services, acquiring land in the years 1961/62 by the side of the Lancaster canal running through Garstang. Here they built a housing estate consisting of between 20-40 houses and then went on to build houses across Fylde, Wyre, Gr Eccleston and other parts of Lancashire.

Mid 60s also saw Fox Brothers become involved in works on the Preston New Road dual carriageway, another big landmark job for the company.

The 70s oversaw crane hire services being offered by Fox Brothers, with the first telescopic cranes 120T Coles bought in 1968 and subsequently hired out long term to ICI. At the height of business, Fox Brothers was operating and hiring out up to 17 telescopic cranes. Fox Brother’s operator’s licence increased with the gradual fleet expansion, with the licence now covering 14 heavy good trailers, 4 trailers, 2 tipping trailers, 40ft flat bed trailer and a low loader.

HF took on full control of the company as Jack Fox continued working in a director’s role – One of the first steps HF took was to clear the premises at Holyoake Avenue of all the old plant equipment that was previously being stored there. From here Fox Brothers built on the yard increasing it’s size until it was soon an industrial estate with Fox Brothers keeping units as offices and workshop but letting out other properties on the estate

The 80s and 90s saw the company grow in local reputation and continue to offer the services they have provided and specialised in for years. In the early 90s, Fox Brothers left their premises at Holyoake Avenue and bought a transport depot on Holly Road, Red Marsh Industrial Estate in Thornton.

Further fleet expansion of tipper wagons in 2005 increased the operator’s licence to cover up to 22 vehicles.

2007 saw the passing of HF, full control and ownership of Fox Brothers was passed on to the 4th generation of the family.

Fox Brothers head office moved premises to Whitehills Business Park in Blackpool along with further fleet expansion as haulage, earthworks, ready mix concrete and contracting became the business’s core services with the plant hire operation sold off.

Was a pivotal year for Fox Brothers as they won ‘Construction Business of the Year’ at the Bibas (Lancashire based business awards).  This helped their contracting side of the business as they continued to accrue more accreditations from awarding bodies.

Oversaw the fleet size grow further to over 60 trucks and trailers including the acquisitions such as walking floor trailers opening up more contracting work such as recycling and landfills. The transport yard moved premises to cater for the increased sized fleet to Squires Gate Industrial Estate in Blackpool with the new concrete yard also on site. A conscious effort on branding saw the company move on to social media channels, create a new website and get involved in more charitable and community projects.

Further ventures are planned with high profile contracting works, demolition jobs, ready mix concrete supply and bulk haulage opportunities – Fox Brothers is establishing itself on the map as one of the high profile haulage and construction companies.

As much as 2020 has been a difficult year for many tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, Fox Brothers has persevered and in following all Government advice and guidelines has put the safety of their employees and clients as well as the general public as paramount. This period also allowed the company to focus on their FORS accreditation among others and through a collective team effort has equated to the company being awarded FORS Gold membership upon first application. This has been a long term goal achieved for Fox Brothers as we continue to improve and grow into one of the leading haulage and contracting companies.

Fox Brothers acquire Clive Hurt Plant Hire in ground-breaking deal. This acquisition will also significantly enhance the combined Group’s buying power for wagons, plant, equipment, fuel, tipping and aggregates. The acquisition also saw Fox Brothers acquire CMP based in Anglesey.

Fox Brothers acquired Lostock Hall-based JJ O’Grady Limited to further extend its range of services.

Established in 2006, JJ O’Grady Limited offers infrastructure and highways maintenance works, including street lighting. It has a track record of working with local authorities, housing developers and civil engineering contractors.

The judges said “Fox Group demonstrated impressive growth and commitment to growth during the pandemic.
Judges were impressed by the business working so closely with offenders and ex-offenders and the fact that 90% of staff are directly employed by the business in an industry that traditionally relies on a high proportion of agency staff. Fox Group are the unsung heroes of the Built Environment!.” 

Fox Group has placed a landmark order which is expected to see it become the first tipper operator in the UK to begin the transition from diesel to electric vehicles, following an order placed with Thomas Hardie Commercials for two Volvo FE Electric 6×2 tippers.

8 hybrid vehicles have also been added to the fleet.

Ending the year on a high, December 2021 saw Fox Brothers take over the Stevedoring operations at Glasson Dock in North Lancashire. And it all came about from a simple telephone call.

February 2022 saw Fox Brothers acquire long established Blackledge Plant Hire based in Bamber Bridge.

Established in the 1970s, Bamber Bridge-based Blackledge Plant Hire has built a strong reputation as a plant hire specialist. A second generation, family-run business, it has 40 machines and 14 trucks.

Fox Brothers are announced as finalists in not just one, but three categories for the Red Rose Awards 2022.

Finalists in the Built Environment, Corporate Social Responsibility and Large Business of the year, Fox Brothers look forward to the ceremony in June 2022.

Fox Group take over Unit 8 as well as Unit 11 of Neptune Business Park. New signs have also been put onto the buildings, proudly showcasing all aspects of the Fox Group.

Fox Brothers achieve FORS Gold for the second year in a row.

Fox Brothers successfully passed the FORS Gold accreditation meaning they are accredited for another year.

Fox Group welcomes their two brand new electric tipper trucks to their ever growing fleet.

The tipper trucks are the very first of their kind within the UK, with Fox Group ‘hauling the future.’

Fox Group are announced as winners of the Corporate Social Responsibility award at the Lancashire Business View Red Rose Awards 2022.

Fox Group introduce the first Tesab Electric Crusher in the UK to their fleet of machines.

Following on from the introduction of their electric tippers in June of 2022, the group’s electric fleet is growing each day.

We were crowned Construction Business of the Year at the BIBAs 2022 ceremony!

We had a fantastic night at the BIBAs ceremony on Friday 16th and we are so grateful to have been crowned winners.

Our brand new Scania T-Cab was debuted in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II following on from her passing.

We are delighted with the turnout of the T-Cab, it looks incredible.

We were absolutely delighted to have been announced the winner of the Northern Tipper Operator of the Year award at the Northern Rewards on behalf of Transport News!

We are unbelievably proud of all the team, thank you so much!

We were proud to have been crowned winners of the Tipper Operator of the Year Award at the Thompsons Tipper Awards, what an achievement!

This week, Fox Group began their expansion into rail, with the opening of their railhead at Leyland, Lancashire. The railhead sidings, which were initially built in 1953, were relayed in 2018 and utilised by Network Rail for storage during the Blackpool electrification scheme.

Fox Group announce the acquisition of Muck Away and Aggregates organisation, Tipworx Ltd, in a deal which further solidifies its national footprint of multifaceted services.

Fox Group are delighted to announce the signing of a Partnership Agreement with Ashville.

Together, we will work together providing Plant, Machinery and Equipment Hire in and around the London area.

We are delighted to announce the opening of our Liverpool depot, on Newton Road.

We are delighted to have been crowned winners of the ‘Non-SME of the Year’ Award at the Lancashire Business Environment Awards.

Over on the Island!

This summer saw us over in the Isle of Man for the Royal Manx Agricultural Show. It was a great experience and fantastic to meet some of our clients from over there.

Group Managing Director, Paul Fox, spoke at the East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce Transport and Logistics Network, talking all things Sustainability: The good, the bad and the ugly.

The network also saw the first glance of our newest electric vehicle liveried up in Fox Group colours. The wagon, a Volvo FMX Electric 8×4 Rigid Aluminum Body is one of four brand new wagons which will be joining our fleet later this year.

We are delighted to have been announced as winners of the ‘Chamber Low-Carbon Climate Action’ Award at the Wyre Business Awards.

Company to be transformed into fully integrated, circular economy construction materials solutions business.

This marks the first acquisition by the Fox Group since being acquired by Stellex Capital Management in September 2024 and is fully aligned with the business strategy in an effort to drive both organic and inorganic growth.

Our brand new, state-of-the-art, highly efficient mixing plant delivers the very best asphalt products across North West England.